Andrew Gross: Islanders keeping the right mindset amid their NHL playoff push
Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders. Credit: Jim McIsaac
OTTAWA, Ontario — Patrick Roy displayed the type of swagger he wants to see from his Islanders when Newsday asked the coach following the Islanders’ latest victory about the team’s two closest competitors in the Metropolitan Division, the Penguins and Blue Jackets, seemingly winning every night. The rest of the question was going to be about the pressure that applies to the Islanders.
Roy never let it get that far.
“I think they see us winning every night, too,” Roy said, drawing laughs. “That’s the way it is, isn’t it? Everybody wants to be a part of the playoffs. We know it’s going to be hard-fought until the end of the season.”
Roy is 100% correct and so is his demand the Islanders just focus on the game at hand and not worry about the big picture. Consistently earning two points takes care of everything. Next up is Thursday night’s match against the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre after this three-game Canadian swing opened with a methodical 3-1 win over the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.
The Senators, currently below the playoff cutoff in the Atlantic Division, are one of seven Eastern Conference teams that could impact the Islanders’ playoff hopes along with the Penguins, Blue Jackets, Lightning, Canadiens, Bruins and Red Wings.
The safest thing for the Islanders is to finish in the top three in their division rather than fall into a battle for a wild-card spot.
But the Blue Jackets, two points behind the third-place Islanders having played one fewer game, are on a 5-0-4 streak and are 15-2-4 since Rick Bowness was named interim coach on Jan. 12. The second-place Penguins bring a 5-3-3 stretch into Wednesday night’s match in Carolina after a 7-2 road win over the Stanley Cup favorite Avalanche on Monday night.
The Penguins earned a point in an overtime loss to the Hurricanes and have 84 points to the Islanders 83. Sidney Crosby, returning from an injury suffered in the Olympics, scored the Penguins opening goal.
“Everyone’s winning games, including us,” Mathew Barzal said after his three-assist performance against the Maple Leafs. “That’s just the race it is this year. We’ve just got to keep pace and, hopefully, push the pace. We were looking at the [Blue Jackets’] score in the intermission. Every game is so big right now, it’s fun. That’s the best part about this time of the year. Every game just means a little more and every play means a little more. The power play means a little more. It’s what we play for.”
The power play, by the way, was 2-for-6 against the Maple Leafs, and two man-advantage goals in the opening 9:43 of the first period proved the difference.
So Barzal’s take, just like Roy’s, prove the Islanders have the perfect attitude toward this condensed playoff push with eight games in 13 days to end this month.
Plus, the Islanders have plenty of control over their destiny with their next three games against the Senators, Canadiens and Blue Jackets, plus the Penguins coming to UBS Arena on March 30.
“The way you get to the playoffs or the way you have momentum getting into the playoffs is worry about yourself,” said Brayden Schenn, thrust into the Islanders’ playoff push after being acquired from the Blues on March 6. “Everyone’s scoreboard watching this time of the year, I’m not saying we’re not. You just have to worry about getting two points yourself.”
That’s the right kind of swagger.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
